The Collective Madness of All
by TheRoman987
Summary: Edward Kenway is the captain of the most feared-by-pirates Man o' War in the West Indies, the HMS Invincible. But what happens when it is attacked by the Queen Anne's Revenge, and a brig under the command of James Kidd? What happens when Kenway is left to drift? The AC 4 plot is still there, just modified. Kiddway, 'cause that's how I roll.


**A/N: This story, at least the first chapter isn't actually my idea. The original is called Growing Fond of You by ThreeWishesKey. As he/she/it didn't update beyond the first chapter, and it's been about a year now, I've decided to piggyback on his idea.**

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any of the Assassin's Creed games, I only play them.

Chapter 1- Ghost Ships in the Fog

Kenway's POV

"Captain!" shouted Jacob Wright, one of my more reliable officers, "Captain!"

"What!?" I shouted back, pulling on my red coat and sword. Lastly, of course, was the bicorn hat that showed I was the captain of my man o' war, the HMS _Invincible_. I was a tall man with neatly tied back blond hair and blue eyes. I had the look of a respected captain about me, which I was. No incompetence was allowed on a man o' war, especially not mine.

"There's something in the fog out there, sir!" Jacobs reported as I burst out of my cabin and up to the wheel, where my helmsman was steering the ship.

"Two ships off the port bow! They look like ghosts, come to sink us!" shouted down one of the two scouts

I grabbed the spyglass from Jacob and peered out. They were shapes in the fog, but I could see well enough to know they were flying black flags.

"A brig and a frigate." I said, "Ha! It's the _Queen Anne's Revenge_! Blackbeard himself intends to face our broadside! Finally, we can sink the bastard!"

"Looks like things have come to a head between you two. You are the most feared British captain in the Caribbean. Pirates know the last thing they would see is your ship. Blackbeard does the same." It was Sir Edmund, a knighted historian whom I was supposed to deliver to Havana. More importantly, it was an object, a glass cube, that had to arrive safely.

"Fire mortars! Aim for the brig!" I commanded. The mortars on the front of the _Invincible _exploded into action, metal balls arcing towards the unrecognized pirate brig. To my surprise, the brig adroitly turned, avoiding the mortar fire, and sent a volley of shot at my ship.

The round shot fell just short of us, splashing into the waves in front of my bow. Meanwhile, the _Queen Anne's Revenge_ was only a hundred meters from us, still aiming to face my man o' war head on, like two knights on horseback.

"Fire chasers!" I ordered. The frontal cannons opened up, hitting the frigate on her bow. Neither of us had a ram, yet we were charging straight at each other.

_What was he thinking?_

As we closed to fifty meters, the _Queen Anne's Revenge_ dropped anchor, making it turn on a dime. Now it's whole broadside was facing me.

"Ha! Blackbeard's good. I would be disappointed if this was an easy fight! Give them another volley, chasers!" At this range, all of the chase cannons hit. The frigate returned fire, heavy shot tearing through the bow of my ship while the frigate started moving again.

Blackbeard's backside was exposed to my broadside now.

"Give him some heavy shot!" I ordered. Now I was the one throwing out metal while the _Queen Anne's Revenge_ threw what looked like kegs of some kind out the back. Kegs that exploded once they hit the _Invincible_.

_What the fuck are those? Something out of Nassau, I presume._

"Sir! Behind us!" Jacobs shouted, warning me. The brig looped around, and was moving at full sail behind me. Its ram was slicing through the water just beneath the surface.

"What is he thinking? A brig ramming a man o' war? He'll just bounce off!" I shouted, "Pull us along side the frigate!"

We slowly turned, ponderously swinging around so that our broadside and the _Queen Anne's Revenge_ pointed at each other.

"Heavy shot!" I shouted, "As much as you can, lads!"

Cannonballs crisscrossed between our ships, battering us both. Suddenly, something whipped over my head. It was chain shot, designed for taking down masts. The chain wrapped around one of the spurs, cracking it in half. Another whizzed by to hit the mainmast, cracking it at about halfway up, and another on the mizzenmast, bringing the whole thing down. Others missed entirely, hitting the sails or flying over.

"They're ramming us, sir!" Jacobs yelled.

"Brace!" I shouted. My whole crew grabbed anything nailed down as the brig approached my rear.

To my surprise, the ram punched through the hull of my ship, shattering planks and armor.

"Sir, I don't think the sides can take much more of this!" yelled my quartermaster, Edward.

"Turn the ship around! We won't be sunk this easily!" I commanded.

"We can't! They've taken out our masts! We're dead in the water, sir!" He was right. We were not moving at all, just drifting.

"Prepare to repel boarders!" I yelled. The brig was pulling up along side, and throwing grapnels. One of them hit an unfortunate sailor, and dragged him overboard. The other two caught, and we were reeled in.

Meanwhile, most of my crew grabbed muskets and started firing at the pirates. I drew my twin swords and brandished them.

"They're boarding!" Indeed, many of those dirty pirates swung across on ropes, engaging my crew of trained military men.

I ran down to the deck, hacking my was through the pirates. Either they would die, or I would.

Line Break

I could hear the scream of the pirates I injured. Soon enough, though, the fighting lulled as my crew was whittled down by the stream of pirates. I was the last, stopped by a pistol pointed at my chest.

"Go ta' the rest." ordered the owner of the pistol, gesturing with it to where the remainder of my crew were on their knees.

I was outnumbered, giving me no choice but to drop my swords and join them in kneeling. In front of the seven or eight remaining British soldiers strode a man of about twenty-two years of age.

"Now, either ya'll can die here." he drew his sword and pointed it at us for emphasis, "Or ya' can sign on, as a member of this hearty crew. Swear ya'self to James Kidd, the pirate."

"I'll join you." said the first man in line, a regular soldier. They cut his bonds, but took his sword away.

"I will die, like anyone loyal to England would." Jacobs spat in Kidd's face.

"Good man, Jacobs. I knew you were a fine officer!" I called out to my loyal lookout.

With that, Kidd, who I now took to be the captain, slit his throat and let him lie there.

"And you?" Kidd turned to the next in line, another regular, who joined them. He kept going. One other joined the pirates, but the rest chose death, like the fine men they were.

"How about you, Kenway? Wouldn't cha' like the chance to see ya' wife again?" James Kidd held his sword at my throat.

"I would rather die by the hand of a pirate than shake one." I spat, glaring up at him.

" Once I saw tha' ship, the so aptly named _Invincible_," his voice was sarcastic with the last few words, "Well, I jus' had ta' take it, and Thatch was more than willin' to lend a hand."

"Just kill me now, and don't make me listen to this uncultured babble." I said, still defiant.

"Well, I would be happy to oblige." Kidd said, faking an English accent and a bow. The sword he carried stabbed my through the ribs. My world spun, and turned black as I fell to the ground.

"Such a waste of able bodies." Kidd muttered, "Set a course for Tulum! And send this ship to Davy Jones!"

Line Break

I was woken by a series of explosions that rocked the HMS _Invincible._

_They were sinking my ship!_

Blood was pouring from my chest as I stood. The man o' war was mostly in one piece, sinking straight into the water.

_I need to get a platform of some kind. Something to keep me afloat!_

Grabbing a pistol from the deck, I took aim at the rear powder reserves, and fired. The black powder barrels exploded, sending derbies flying everywhere. Most importantly, though, the whole aft wall of the man o' war tore away, splashing into the water.

As I was about to jump, I saw the body of Sir Edmund. In his fist was the glass cube he was to deliver to Havana. Now I would have to deliver it for him. I pried it from his fist, and tucked it away, before I jumped from the deck of the HMS _Invincible_, falling all the way down into the water.

Panting, I dragged myself onto the raft, and darkness took me once again.

Line Break

Kidd's POV

"Mentor! I got the maps!" I called. Once my crew and I arrived at Tulum, I immediately started looking for my mentor, Ah Tabai.

"Good." I recognized his voice, right behind me, "But you are missing an important item. The glass cube must be recovered."

I turned, seeing his familiar brown outfit, "It's probably sunk, now."

"It is hollow. The glass cube will float. Go now, and complete your mission."

"I will, mentor."

Line Break

Kenway's POV

As the sun rose, I used a knife to cut another notch in the wood. Three days so far, living off whatever food my crew had attached to the back wall of the man o' war. Three days of sheltering from the scorching sun, the drenching rain, and the heaving sea. I had the spyglass, a knife and a pistol, with only enough powder for three shots. A good amount of food, hopefully enough to see me to shore again. After three days, however, water was running short.

It looked to be a day of calm seas and blinding sun. As usual, the first thing I did was check the bandaged I set around the stab wound. They were holding, and it looked like the dressings I used had some effect.

I raised the spyglass up to my eye, scanning the horizon for any ship that might pick me up. My eyes light upon a brig, heading at full sail in my direction, before my eyes widened and I brought the spyglass down.

It was the same brig that sunk the HMS _Invincible._

_What are they doing here? Haven't they caused enough damage already? Or have they come back to kill anyone fortunate enough to survive the wreck?_

Kidd's POV

"A sailor! To starboard, sah! He's drifting, sah!" shouted the watcher on the left side of my ship, the_ Crow._

"Bring us alongside. We'll see if he wants to sign on." I ordered my helmsman. Through my own spyglass, I saw a British navy officer of some sort. He had blond hair, blue eyes, and carried himself like he was a captain.

_What shite is this? I stabbed him myself!_

"Drag him aboard!" I shouted, brandishing my sword above my head.

Kenway's POV

As I saw the pirates rappel onto my raft, I drew the only weapons I had: My knife and my pistol. It wasn't much, but I wasn't going down without fighting, like any good officer, loyal to his last breathe, would.

"Come on, you bloody pirates! See what a real man is made of!" I taunted as the pirates charged.

The first tried a slash from my bottom left, which I hooked over my head, then stabbed him. As he died, I sheathed my pistol and grabbed the pirate's cutlass in my right hand, my knife now in the left.

The second pirate was a brutish man, armed with a boarding axe. Dodging his swing, I rolled to his back, and killed him with two quick slashes. At the same time, my knife bent around behind me to block a pirates dagger. I spun and kicked the dagger-wielding pirate back into the crowd.

There was a clearing for the while, so I drew my pistol, aimed it at the captain, and fired. It missed his head, but killed the man next to him, the helmsman.

The pirates ran at me again, the dagger one at the front. I started to reload my pistol, but the dagger-wielding pirate was too agile, and tackled me to the ground. Before I could get up, there were a dozen guns pointed in my direction.

"Well. Kenway, it seems ya' _just won't die. _But cha' might be able ta' help me. Ya' were deliverin' a glass cube, mate. Tell me where it is, and I'll let cha' go. I'll even take ya' to Havana." Kidd offered.

"You take me to Havana, and I'll tell you where I hid it. Not one minute before, though." I replied, defiant.

"Ya're in no position to bargain, lad." Kidd replied, "Tell me wher' it is, and I just may take ya' to Havana from the goodness of me heart."

"On the contrary, I have nothing to lose. And you, it looks like, have a great deal to lose. I am the one holding the cards here, not you, _pirate_." I shot back.

"We'll be seeing about that." Kidd replied, and used his pistol to pound me solidly in the head, knocking me unconscious.

Line Break

Third Person POV

"To Duncan Walpole,

Edmund has failed to deliver the documents to me. I need you, Duncan Walpole, to deliver the maps and another blood vial to Havana. While we have not met before, I believe I will recognize you by the robes your order wear. I await you in Havana, and anticipate your induction into the Templar.

My Regards,

Laureano de Torres y Ayala, Governor of Cuba"

Duncan Walpole released the messenger pigeon after he read the message, and tucked the piece of paper into a glass bottle, sealing it with a cork.

_I need to get to Havana. But how?_

"Duncan, I have a task for you." I turned to see Ah Tabai, the local leader of the Brotherhood, "We have intercepted a message speaking of a Templar ship carrying a Sage. It is headed for Havana, where the Templars will imprison him. You must intercept that ship, and free the Sage. With Kidd elsewhere, this task falls to you. Do not fail me."

_I' will head to Havana with the maps and vial, to aid the Templars in capturing the Sage._

"Of course. I will leave without delay." I replied, turning to the docks, where a frigate, the HMS _Intrigue_ was bound to depart.

**A/N: Sorry I couldn't find the exact wording of Torres's letter. What will happen to Kenway on Kidd's ship? What will happen with the vial he carries? And where will Duncan go?**

**Reviews are always appreciated!**


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